Saturday Games and mid year Thoughts on teams in 1A And 2A

[Ahcimatsok]

Haha wow you didn't hear any abuse In the Pembroke vs grads red fixture? Haha that's hilarious

[wojindows]

It's no surprise that this referee has been involved in 4 of the 5 matches being abandoned across the Collegiate League this season.

Fairly certain there have only been 2 matches abandoned this year John. Where does that stat come from?

[Ross30]

Let's stop the comments regarding Pembroke v Grads Red from last week (from both clubs). It was unnecessary
for those games to be referred to in the first place on a thread about a different
round and a different set of circumstances. The two clubs are each probably separately aggrieved
by events from that day, but there's no value in airing them on the forum. Pembroke were certainly
unhappy with the referee last week but no threats were made to him.

If the referee from the Grads Red v Rostrevor games has in fact abandoned 4 CSL games already this year
then that definitely needs to be examined.

Pits, I think the other serious incidents you've referred to have been or are being dealt with and serious
penalties are likely to be imposed. But usually only the affected clubs are notified of the outcome.

[yak]

I guess there are a couple of issues here: 1. Quality of Referees & without a bigger pool of ref's i'm not sure how that can be improved. I know the clubs are able to rate the ref's & we've definitely done that in the past (both positive & negative), what i'm not certain of is what happens to the rating & if the feedback is ever given to the refs.
The other issue - threats/abuse of ref's is something we can all do something about. My apologies for jumping to conclusions John, obviously i wasn't at the game so was only commenting on what i read. i guess this is only something we can all do within our own clubs. I think everyone likes a bit of banter & the key is for us to ensure that no one within the club crosses the line (and if they do, we do something about it).
What's made this league great over the years is the friendship/camaraderie within the league, part of this is being able to say a few things to the other team/ref, without crossing that line..
It's good to hear your comments about how you'd handle these issues within the club & i'm sure that the other clubs have the same view. It's really down to those senior members setting the bar at their own clubs & with that the rest will follow.

[John Pits]

Yak, cheers for the response.

Ross and Steve. Let me make it clear, I wasn't having a go at Pembroke and I'm sorry if it came across that way. I was just stating that incidents like this happen every weekend and (in my opinion) the abuse/banter, whatever you want to call it, from the previous game was the same as what happened in the Rostrevor vs Grads game. It's natural for a team and sideline to get upset at decisions which they think are wrong and the referee should be able to deal with a couple of people getting upset at him (as long as there are no threats).

[cruie]

I've put this before, elsewhere, but I'll type it out again ...

I think one of the biggest issues with the fuss over refs (who turn up) is the expectation people have about their abilities (and what their abilities should be).

• I'm rubbish at playing football. If I wasn't rubbish, I'd be getting paid silly amounts of money to play the game.
• I'm rubbish at reffing (when I have done club ref). Even if I was good at it, I still wouldn't want to do it - full time - for treble the money on offer

Quite why people expect refs to be brilliant I don't understand. Whenever I do it, it amazes me how hard it is and how much I miss that I should have picked up (or so people playing/watching tell me after it has finished) ... and I've played football for 40+ years.


I have seen some absolutely awful decisions while watching games in the 5 years I have been over here. I saw countless more for the 30+ years I was involved back 'ome. Both for the team I was coaching/playing and for the opposition. I may well know - assuming the individual ref talked about here was reffing last year - and have been on "the wrong end" of decisions made by this ref (and if not him, then others) ... but, when I have gone to sign match-sheets at the end with him, I have kept it shut. I believe he thought he was correct and that is that.


I think people need to lower their expectations ... refs are just as rubbish as us.

[John Pits]

Cruie, first of all, I agree that our expectations are probably a little high at times.

Having said that, there is a difference between having a referee who is doing his best and gets the occasional call wrong. These refs are, 99% of the time, treated with the respect they deserve

and

having referees like the one on the weekend who are just there on a power-trip, making calls that no one has any idea about. They have no handle on the game and it can't be a coincidence that it's the same bloke that has been kicked this year, has been abused non-stop and that has had other matches abandoned. Keep in mind that these incidents have occurred with clubs that have had nothing, but fine disciplinary records all season before these incidents.

[cruie]

Cruie, first of all, I agree that our expectations are probably a little high at times.

Having said that, there is a difference between having a referee who is doing his best and gets the occasional call wrong. These refs are, 99% of the time, treated with the respect they deserve

and

having referees like the one on the weekend who are just there on a power-trip, making calls that no one has any idea about. They have no handle on the game and it can't be a coincidence that it's the same bloke that has been kicked this year, has been abused non-stop and that has had other matches abandoned. Keep in mind that these incidents have occurred with clubs that have had nothing, but fine disciplinary records all season before these incidents.

I'm led to believe my (former) club has had dealings with the ref in question, this season. Its previous record is OK.

That isn't my point.

My point is that - regardless of whether he's a complete and utter tool, a bit blind or just sadly mistaken - he is the ref and what he says goes. End of.

As yak put above, there's official forms clubs can fill in to report on the ref of any game. That is all that should be done. I'm of the opinion Dino - and crew - can read/write and, if a particular ref is getting similar poor reports from multiple clubs, I believe that issue would be resolved.

Every time someone whines in public about X ref, Y ref, or refs in general it only serves to further undermine respect for all referees. Easy for people to say that it doesn't matter if they call the blind old useless f**k, a blind old useless f**k, while they are propping up the BBQ - It very probably matters to the bloke in charge of the game and is - certainly from my point of view - the main reason I would not ref.

I've seen refs of 15 years and younger - reffing players not much more than half that age - walking off the pitch in tears after a gang of parents have suggested it was a corner, not a goal kick. I don't want to spend my Saturday's getting anything from questioned every 2 minutes to abused every 10 ... not for $750 a game, nevermind $75. I don't need the money that badly and I don't know very many other people who do either.

Either it is stopped, or there will be fewer and fewer official refs. For the expansion of the CSL - and the wider game in this state - club refs aren't a viable alternative (whether they have been on a course, or not).

[Squeezy Cheesey Peas]

Awfully tough problem.. and like a politician I agree with b oth sides of the debate!
The ref in question is a rogue and is a real problem....
The respect for ALL refs needs to be pushed but more importantly , enforced at club level.
I also agree that having a crack at any ref (tool or not) does not help the overall problem however the odd rogue ref has the same impact in reverse.
Fill the form in for the ref (I don't believe any of us do it often enough yet we all complain... I have been as bad as anyone on this point but no more!)
The we ALL need to push a unwritten code of conduct at our clubs to improve the ref / player / club relationships. I have always admired the rubgy system where zero dissent is tolerated and only the captain can question the ref. Instead of a yellow for dissent, the 10 mtere advance + free kicks are a great idea for rugby. It gives the opposition an advantage whereas the yeloows I see for dissent have minmal effect as the decison to give a second yellow is often hard for refs.... seen a yellow given for disent (and rightly so) folowed by the ref copping worse, multiple times from the same player and not adminstering the second in the same manner. I reckon a few games where teams lose games due to the perennial big mouths will polarise clubs thinking.
The answer is in our hands as we all know who the 80% of dissenters are at our respective clubs.....
AN idiot is somone who does the same thing today as they did yesterday and expects something to change - we need to change something

[buzzy]

The ref in question is a rogue and is a real problem....

This specific opinion seems to be popping up time and again on this forum from many different people. I'd like to add that I have seen this man referee our women's team on Sundays many times this year and not once has there been an issue. No one has allegedly kicked him, no one has allegedly threatened him and he hasn't abandoned any of the matches. Why not? In my personal opinion it is because of the good behaviour of the players and supporters from all teams in that league! It might seem like a long bow to draw but I can guarantee you the women at our club take their football as seriously and are equally as competitive as the men.